Water bottle storage and use furniture

ABSTRACT

Water-bottle storage and use furniture has at least one base shelf ( 1 ), one of more bottle-use supports ( 3, 15 ) pyramidally above the base shelf and one or more uprights ( 5, 8 ) intermediate the base shelf and the use support. Weight of the base shelf and weight of any water bottles ( 2, 6, 7 ) provide pyramidical stability. Walls ( 10 ) and doors ( 13, 14 ) can cover open sides with aesthetics selectively and prevent outside view of full and used water bottles on the base shelf. Wheels, casters ( 12 ) and legs ( 9 ) can be positioned on the base shelf. The use support can be articulated for design orientation of the water bottles. Water dispensers ( 17 ) and water modifiers ( 18 ) of temperature, taste, color and quality of water dispensed from the water dispenser are optional.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to furniture for storage and use ofdrinking-water bottles in private or public facilities.

[0002] Increasing use of bottled water for drinking in homes, businessesand other private and public facilities is creating demand forconvenient water-bottle furniture which currently is not known to existfor use and storage of a plurality of water bottles as taught by thisinvention.

[0003] Examples of most-closely related known but different devices aredescribed in the following patent documents: U.S. Pat. No. InventorIssue Date 5,370,245 Tersch, et al. Dec. 6, 1994 6,003,654 Webber, etal. Dec. 21, 1999 6,135,297 DeShazo, et al. Oct. 24, 2000 5,310,300Crabb, et al. May 10, 1994 6,142,300 Kelly, et al. Nov. 7, 20005,016,545 Robertson, et al. May 21, 1991 4,844,393 Lee Jul. 4, 19894,485,930 Savelkouls Dec. 4, 1984

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Objects of patentable novelty and utility taught by thisinvention are to provide water-bottle storage and use furniture which:

[0005] stores and contains a desired use-lot of water bottlesconveniently for pre-use storage, in-use positioning and after-usestorage;

[0006] is safe from being tipped by foreseeable ambient factors;

[0007] includes bottle covering and enclosure with selective aesthetics;and

[0008] provides convenient bottle-handling access.

[0009] This invention accomplishes these and other objectives withwater-bottle storage and use furniture having at least one base shelf,one or more bottle-use supports pyramidally above the base shelf; one ormore uprights intermediate the base shelf and the use support. Weight ofthe base shelf and weight of any water bottles provide pyramidicalstability. Walls and doors can cover open sides with aestheticsselectively and prevent outside view of full and used water bottles onthe base shelf. Wheels, casters and legs can be positioned on the baseshelf. The use support can be articulated for design orientation of thewater bottles. Water dispensers and modifiers of temperature, taste,color and quality of water dispensed from the water dispenser areoptional.

[0010] The above and other objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention should become even more readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed descriptionin conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and describedillustrative embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] This invention is described by appended claims in relation todescription of a preferred embodiment with reference to the followingdrawings which are explained briefly as follows:

[0012]FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment for two cylindricalthree-gallon water bottles in storage position on a base shelf and twoof the water bottles horizontally one above the other on bottle-usesupports;

[0013]FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the FIG. 1illustration;

[0014]FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of an embodiment for fourcylindrical five-gallon water bottles in storage position on a baseshelf and two water bottles horizontally one above the other onbottle-use supports;

[0015]FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway top view of the FIG. 3 illustration;

[0016]FIG. 5 is a front view of an embodiment for eight rectangular twoand one-half-gallon water bottles in storage position on two baseshelves and one of the water bottles horizontally on a bottle-usesupport;

[0017]FIG. 6 is a front view of an embodiment for six rectangular twoand one-half-gallon water bottles in storage position on two baseshelves and one of the water bottles horizontally on a bottle-usesupport;

[0018]FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway side view of the FIG. 5 illustrationthat also has doors that are shown in closed modes on fronts of the baseshelves and the bottle-use support;

[0019]FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway top view of the FIG. 7 illustrationwith the doors shown in open modes;

[0020]FIG. 9 is the FIG. 8 illustration with the doors shown in closedmodes;

[0021]FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway front view of the FIG. 9illustration;

[0022]FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway front view of an embodiment forfour cylindrical five-gallon water bottles in storage position on a baseshelf and one water bottle positioned vertically on a bottle-use supporthaving a controllable water dispenser and water modifier;

[0023]FIG. 12 is a partially cutaway side view of the FIG. 11illustration with casters and with front doors in closed modes;

[0024]FIG. 13 is a partially cutaway top view of the FIG. 12illustration with the doors in open modes;

[0025]FIG. 14 is a partially cutaway side view of an embodiment for fourcylindrical five-gallon water bottles in storage position on a baseshelf and one water bottle slanted on a bottle-use support;

[0026]FIG. 15 is a partially cutaway front view of an embodiment fortwenty-four one-gallon water bottles in storage position on three baseshelves and one water bottle positioned vertically on a bottle-usesupport having a controllable water dispenser and water modifier;

[0027]FIG. 16 is the FIG. 15 illustration having doors in closed modes;

[0028]FIG. 17 is a partially cutaway side view of the FIG. 16illustration; and

[0029]FIG. 18 is a top view of the FIG. 17 illustration with the doorsin open modes.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0030] Listed numerically below with reference to the drawings are termsused to describe features of this invention. These terms and numbersassigned to them designate the same features throughout thisdescription. 1. Base shelf 12. Casters 2. Multiple-gallon water bottle13. Base door 3. Bottle-use support 14. Use-support door 4. Horizontalsupport 15. Water-bottle cradles 5. Upright 16. Bottle exit 6.Rectangular water bottles 17. Water dispenser 7. One-gallon waterbottles 18. Water modifier 8. Pillared upright 19. Controller 9. Legs20. Third base shelf 10. Back cover 21. Handle 11. Second base shelf

[0031] Referring to FIGS. 1-4, water-bottle storage and use furniturehas at least one base shelf 1 that is articulated to support apredetermined plurality of predetermined water bottles used to containdrinking water for use in private, commercial and public buildings. Forthis embodiment, the water bottles are three-gallon or five-gallon waterbottles 2 that are cylindrical. One or more bottle-use supports 3 onhorizontal supports 4 are situated vertically above the base shelf 1 andabove the water bottles which are stored in an upright orientation onthe base shelf 1. The bottle-use supports 3 are situated on one or moreuprights 5 intermediate the bottle-use supports 3 and the base shelf 1.

[0032] The bottle-use supports 3 have smaller cross-sectional area thanthe base shelf 1. The bottle-use supports 3 are positionedfrustrate-pyramidally above the one or more uprights 5 and the baseshelf 1 to provide weight and area in addition to weight of any waterbottles with or without water in them for upright stability pyramidallyin relation to a water bottle being used on the bottle-use support 3,water bottles containing water being placed on the base shelf 1 andemptied water bottles being taken off of the base shelf 1 selectively.

[0033] The base shelf 1, the bottle-use support 3, the uprights 5 andother features of this invention are intended to be structured andotherwise articulated for support and use of conventional andforeseeable sizes, shapes and volumetric capacities of water bottles. Inaddition to the three-gallon or five-gallon water bottle 2 shown inFIGS. 1-4, and 11-14, the currently most common conventional andforeseeable water bottles include rectangular water bottles 6 shown inFIGS. 5-10 that generally are made of plastic to contain two andone-half gallons and one-gallon water bottles 7 shown in FIGS. 15-18that usually are square and made of plastic, but can be cylindrical andmade of glass for containing more or less than one gallon of drinkingwater. The three-gallon or five-gallon water bottle 2 is representativeof cylindrical water bottles that can be made of glass or plastic forcontaining designedly more or less than five gallons. The shapes of thewater bottles can include various structural stiffening forms, handles,stiffening ribs, necks, outlet and lid features.

[0034] Three convenient sizes of this water-bottle storage and usefurniture for the three-gallon or five-gallon water bottle 2 include afour-bottle-three gallon size shown in FIGS. 1-2, a six-bottle-fivegallon size shown in FIGS. 3-4 and a five-bottle size shown in FIGS.11-14. For the four-bottle size, two of the three-gallon water bottles 2are oriented vertically on the base shelf 1 for storage before or afteruse. The other two are in-use bottles that are oriented horizontally fora manual-use mode on the horizontal support 4 from which they can beextended slightly for convenient handling access in transferring waterto smaller, different or immediate-use containers. Shown with thefour-bottle size are a pillared upright 8 that can be optional to theuprights 5 in order to allow the uprights 5 to be covering.

[0035] In the six-bottle size, the five-gallon water bottles 2 arejuxtaposed cubically. Shown with the six-bottle size and also thefour-bottle size are optional legs 9 and a back cover 10 that can aidstructural integrity.

[0036] Referring to FIGS. 5-10, the rectangular water bottles 6 can bejuxtaposed on the base shelf 1 and on a second base shelf 11. Thebottle-use support 3 can include a rectangular housing sized and shapedfor the rectangular water bottles 6 instead of for the three-gallon orfive-gallon water bottles 2 shown in FIGS. 1-4. Casters 12 can beprovided as an option to the legs 9 for all embodiments as shown on anine-bottle size with the legs 9 in FIG. 5 and with the casters 12 inFIG. 6 for a seven-bottle size.

[0037] Base doors 13 shown in FIGS. 7-10, 12, 13-14 and 16-18 anduse-support doors 14 shown in FIGS. 7-10 are optional for blockingvision and addition of select aesthetics. The base doors 13 arepreferably double doors that open from opposite sides to save buildingspace as shown in closed modes in FIGS. 7, 9-10, 12, 14 and 16-17. Inopen modes, the base doors 13 are shown in FIGS. 8, 13 and 18. Theuse-support doors 14 are shown in closed modes in FIGS. 7 and 9-10. Inopen mode, a use-support door 14 is shown in FIG. 8.

[0038] The bottle-use supports 3 include water-bottle cradles 15 for onewater bottle of the predetermined water bottles at a time in an invertedvertical orientation with a bottle exit 16 downward in fluidcommunication with an inside periphery of the water bottle. The waterbottles are the five-gallon water bottle 2 depicted in FIGS. 11-13 andthe one-gallon water bottle 7 depicted in FIGS. 15-18.

[0039] As shown in approximate size and schematic relationships in FIGS.10-11, and in FIGS. 15-16, a water dispenser 17 can be situated in fluidcommunication with the bottle exit 16. The bottle-use supports 3 includewater-bottle cradles 15 for one water bottle of the predetermined waterbottles at a time in an inverted vertical orientation with the bottleexit 16 downward in fluid communication with an inside periphery of thewater bottle. In fluid communication with the water dispenser 17 can bea water modifier 18 having a controller 19 for selection of watermodification temperature, taste, color and other factors selectively.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 15 and 17, a third base shelf 20 is desirablefor positioning the one-gallon water bottles 7 in the same workingrelationship to the water-bottle support 3 in related forms as for thethree-gallon or five-gallon water bottles 2 in FIGS. 1-4 and 11-14 andin the same working relationship as for the rectangular water bottles 6in FIGS. 5-10.

[0041] Similar in appearance and with commonality of function andstructure, there is a horizontal support 4 as a refreshment table abovea case of water bottles 2, 6 and 7 that can have the base doors 13 andthe use-support door 14 as desired to provide the same furniturefeatures and advantages for each embodiment. Some users may prefereconomy of the three-gallon or five-gallon water bottles 2 of FIGS. 1-4and 11-14. Others may prefer the storage economy and lifting ease of ahandle 21 on the rectangular water bottles 6 of FIGS. 5-10. Still othersmay prefer still more ease of handling in addition to preservation ofwater quality in smaller unit volumes of the one-gallon water bottles 7of FIGS. 15-18, even with possibly higher costs. In addition to itssimilarity in appearance and commonality of function and structure,total storage volume of water and size of the water-bottle storage anduse furniture can be varied similarly for different sizes and shapes ofwater bottles.

[0042] New and useful water-bottle storage and use furniture having beendescribed, all such foreseeable modifications, adaptations,substitutions of equivalents, mathematical possibilities of combinationsof parts, pluralities of parts, applications and forms thereof asdescribed by the following claims and not precluded by prior art areincluded in this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. Water-bottle storage and use furniture comprising: at least one base shelf articulated to support a predetermined plurality of predetermined water bottles in an upright-storage orientation; one or more bottle-use supports above the base shelf and above water bottles stored on the base shelf; one or more uprights on which the bottle-use support is situated; the one or more uprights being intermediate the bottle-use supports and the base shelf; the bottle-use supports having a predetermined smaller cross-sectional area than a cross-sectional area of the base shelf; the bottle-use supports being situated frustrate-pyramidally above the one or more uprights and the base shelf predeterminedly; the base shelf having predetermined weight and area; and the area of the base shelf and weight of any water bottles thereon provide upright stability pyramidally for a water bottle being used on the bottle-use support, for water bottles containing water being placed on the base shelf, and for emptied water bottles being taken off of the base shelf selectively.
 2. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the water bottles which the base shelf and the bottle-use supports are articulated to support have cylindrical cross sections with predetermined volumetric capacity.
 3. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 2 wherein: the water bottles are five-gallon water bottles.
 4. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 2 wherein: the water bottles are two and one-half-gallon water bottles.
 5. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 2 wherein: the water bottles are one-gallon water bottles.
 6. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the water bottles which the base shelf and the bottle-use supports are articulated to support are rectangular water bottles that have rectangular cross sections with predetermined volumetric capacity.
 7. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 6 wherein: the water bottles are two and one-half-gallon water bottles.
 8. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 6 wherein: the water bottles are one-gallon water bottles.
 9. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 6 wherein: the water bottles are five-gallon water bottles.
 10. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the bottle-use supports include a predetermined water-bottle cradle for one water bottle of the predetermined water bottles at a time in an inverted vertical orientation with an exit downward in fluid communication with an inside periphery of the water bottle.
 11. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the bottle-use supports include a predetermined water-bottle cradle for one water bottle of the predetermined water bottles at a time in a predeterminedly slanted orientation.
 12. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the bottle-use supports include a predetermined water-bottle cradle for two of the predetermined water bottles in horizontal orientation with one of the two water bottles positioned vertically above another of the two water bottles.
 13. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the bottle-use supports include a predetermined water-bottle cradle for one of the predetermined water bottles in horizontal orientation.
 14. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the base shelf is articulated to support a plurality of two water bottles that are juxtaposed.
 15. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the base shelf is articulated to support a plurality of four water bottles that are juxtaposed cubically.
 16. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the base shelf includes a plurality of base shelves.
 17. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the one or more uprights include a central upright that is pillared centrally intermediate positioning of the plurality of water bottles on the base shelf.
 18. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 wherein: the one or more uprights have a plurality of at least two uprights that include walls on oppositely disposed sides of the base shelf.
 19. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 and further comprising: predeterminedly vision-blocking walls intermediate the base shelf and the bottle-use support on predetermined peripheral sides of the base shelf.
 20. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 and further comprising: one or more predeterminedly vision-blocking doors on a predetermined peripheral side of the base shelf.
 21. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 and further comprising: a water dispenser proximate an exit of a water bottle on the bottle-use support.
 22. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 21 and further comprising: a water modifier in fluid communication with the water dispenser.
 23. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 and further comprising: casters on a bottom of the base shelf.
 24. The water-bottle storage and use furniture of claim 1 and further comprising: a predetermined plurality of legs on the bottom of the base shelf. 